


hearts alike

by elegantidler



Category: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra | Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux
Genre: (book canon but with Ayesha), Gen, Historical Accuracy, Historical Inaccuracy, Historical References, Paris Commune
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24419668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elegantidler/pseuds/elegantidler
Summary: A cat and a Communarde
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6





	hearts alike

Erik was frantic.

He was above ground in broad daylight and he was well and truly frantic.

Yesterday morning he had knocked over an inkwell on a finally completed composition, red ink pooling like blood, obscuring the notes. He had cried out in a flash of anger and startled Ayesha who had been curled next to him. She had blinked at him, entirely unimpressed, and stalked off. And she had not come back.

That had been more than 24 hours ago.

She was, of course, free to wander where she liked, but she never went far, and she always came back.

So here he was, above ground, in the daylight, tracing larger and larger circles around an unfinished opera house, searching for her.

In the middle of an insurrection.

Even though he held no loyalties in what went on in the world above ground, he wasn’t oblivious to it either. 

He heard the Communards coming and going through the tunnels and up to the roof, he heard them shouting and laughing together, unaware of his presence in the shadows. He knew all about the new world they were foolishly trying to build, the new world that they were going to get themselves killed for.

But being outside in the midst of it was entirely different.

The very air seemed to be charged and intense. He could hear shouting and the sounds of fighting off in the distance, but around him it seemed that everyone was too busy with their own lives to even spare him a second glance.

Except for one man, apparently.

A loud voice cut into his worry: “Come, citizen, lend a hand for the Republic! We are tearing up the paving stones!”

Erik startled and turned around to see a middle-aged man dressed in workman’s clothes looking directly at him. He frowned at the man, this man who was looking him in the face with a serious expression, this man who was not screaming, and he suddenly felt very awkward.

He muttered something inaudible and stalked off. The sooner he was back underground, the better. He didn’t want to be involved with _any_ of this.

Let them play at war and grandiosity, he was happier away from all of it. 

Rounding another corner, he heard Ayesha before he saw her and by the time he finally did see her, someone else had seen her first.

A tall, fierce-looking woman with a high forehead was ducking out from one of the barricades and running towards a quivering Ayesha, who was huddled in a far corner. And no matter how fast Erik moved, the woman would get to her first. 

He could only stand rooted to the spot, and watch with fear as this stranger scooped up Ayesha and ran back to the barricade.

One of her comrades said something to her as she returned but she shook her head angrily, her further response drowned out by the continuing sounds of battle. She looked down at the poor cat in her arms and gently stroked her head. Then she walked a short distance away from the barricade and placed Ayesha gently on the door step of an empty storefront, out of harm’s way. Ayesha watched her rescuer as she ran back into the fray and then began licking her paw.

Erik reached her in a matter of seconds. He picked her up and held her close, shaking with relief, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He could feel rather than hear her purring as she rubbed against the side of his face.

How much smaller she seemed out in the world than when she was striding around his underground house like it was her own personal kingdom.

With Ayesha cradled safely in his arms, all he wanted to do was get back underground again, away from all of this, back to safety and solitude.

**Author's Note:**

> The tall woman who rescues Ayesha is Louise Michel, French anarchist and Communarde, who, according to her own memoirs, really did run out from the Perronnet barricade to rescue a cat. In a very (very very very) different world, I think she and Erik would have gotten along very well.
> 
> The general tone of Paris under the Commune comes from Prosper Olivier Lissagaray's History of the Paris Commune of 1871 and Kristin Ross' Communal Luxury
> 
> Leroux has a bourgeoisie prejudice against the Commune, but it's a significant part of Erik's story and should be given its fair due. And I consider it my duty to combine my love of the Commune with my love of Phantom  
> This historical inaccuracy is Leroux's, the accuracy is my own.


End file.
